CARTER ON THE BLOCK?

Carter, one of Atlanta's oldest and most prestigious CRE firms, may be selling its brokerage unit. That's right. Sources tell us Carter is in talks to potentially merge with DC-based Cassidy Turley.

But Cassidy Turley is only one of the parties Carter is in talks with, sources say. While Carter officials did not confirm Cassidy Turley, the company's chairman Bob Peterson (seen here at a recentBisnow event) sent an email statement in which he says the company is open to talks with outside parties. ?Because Carter always has and continues to consider strategic ways to enhance the reach of our business segments, we are always open to discussing business opportunities and partnerships,? he wrote. Sources do say the talks are in the early stages. But Carter's brokerage unit would certainly be a catch for Cassidy Turley, which has long desired a presence in the Atlanta market, and continues to rank the metro area as one of the top five it needs to get into.

Cassidy Turley's PR director declined to comment on "rumors" in the market. However, with Carter comes some big names in the industry, including Mike Shelly, Kirk Diamond, Dale Lewis, Glenn Kolker, and Sonia Winfield as seen here, to name a few. And Carter has been involved in a number of high-profile deals, including Coca-Cola's lease at Sanctuary Park, Wells Fargo's renewal at Atlantic Station, and Kilpatrick Stockton's 208k SF renewal at 1100 Peachtree. Bob tells us that 2010 was a profitable year for Carter.